CMOS Active Pixel Sensors as energy-range detectors for proton Computed Tomography

J Instrum. 2015 Jun 3:10:C06001. doi: 10.1088/1748-0221/10/06/C06001.

Abstract

Since the first proof of concept in the early 70s, a number of technologies has been proposed to perform proton CT (pCT), as a means of mapping tissue stopping power for accurate treatment planning in proton therapy. Previous prototypes of energy-range detectors for pCT have been mainly based on the use of scintillator-based calorimeters, to measure proton residual energy after passing through the patient. However, such an approach is limited by the need for only a single proton passing through the energy-range detector in a read-out cycle. A novel approach to this problem could be the use of pixelated detectors, where the independent read-out of each pixel allows to measure simultaneously the residual energy of a number of protons in the same read-out cycle, facilitating a faster and more efficient pCT scan. This paper investigates the suitability of CMOS Active Pixel Sensors (APSs) to track individual protons as they go through a number of CMOS layers, forming an energy-range telescope. Measurements performed at the iThemba Laboratories will be presented and analysed in terms of correlation, to confirm capability of proton tracking for CMOS APSs.

Keywords: Computerized Tomography (CT) and Computed Radiography (CR); Detector modelling and simulations I (interaction of radiation with matter, interaction of photons with matter, interaction of hadrons with matter, etc); Instrumentation for hadron therapy; Solid state detectors.